First, I open all the cupboards in one room, pull out the hidden and forgotten things. I lay them on the floor, or on a bed, and brace myself for chaos. This is my life, I say to myself, and only I can fix it. I flatten things out, and take a close look: […]

I had a hunch. In the back of my mind, I knew I started this blog last February but didn’t know exactly when. Turns out my blog is a year old, as of yesterday. When I think about what I’ve learned in that time, it strikes me that none of it is new. And maybe […]

I’ve been thinking about that old chestnut – can writing be taught – since reading this article featuring UK writers who have good things to say about courses they’ve done. It seems pretty obvious, to anyone who spends time around kids, that everything, really, is taught. When you cover off the necessities of life, if […]

It occurred to me last night that the more experienced I’ve become as a writer, the less superstitious I’ve become. When I was starting out, I was convinced there must be a secret formula and I would often get fixated by a book or a technique and believe that possessing it was imperative to success. […]

I wanted to share a post that got me thinking this week about time, and productivity. It lifts a veil on one of the complicated truths of parenthood: that, despite spending most of your waking hours desperately craving time alone, when an opportunity presents itself to do just that, you seemingly squander time, not on the […]